MICROSCOPIC AND 16S RDNA AMPLICONS EXAMINATION OF THE GROWTH HABIT OF NOSTOC PARMELIOIDES (CYANOBACTERIA): MACROCOLONIES AND ASSOCIATED BACTERIAL COMMUNITIES

Collections of a macroscopic cyanobacterium were made from Swift Current Creek, Saskatchewan, Canada. Extensive growth of these macrocolonies was observed within a short 100 m stretch of the creek and not throughout the rest of the drainage. At this location the current was rapid, substrata rocky and surrounded by native grassland. Colonies were 1 to 5 mm and up to a centimeter in size, and were variable in color but characteristically dark blue-green, growing individually and in clusters. Microscopic examination revealed cellular morphology and dimensions consistent with Nostoc parmelioides. Sequencing analyses (16S rDNA amplicon) indicated that colonies had the greatest similarity with N. parmelioides BTA29 (84.0%) allowing for a tentative assignment of identity. The associated microbial community was dominated by Flavobacterium spp. and was significantly different (p< 0.05) from the planktonic and sediment microbial communities.